Shao Mingyuan was quite satisfied with the silence his shout had brought.

Well, at times like this, it was quite nice that everyone in the capital recognized his face—at least it saved him a lot of trouble when encountering such situations.

“Ah ah ah, it’s Marquis Guanjun! I just touched Marquis Guanjun’s belt!” With one person’s frenzied shouting, those who had been frozen suddenly came back to life, reaching out their hands with even more ferocity than before.

If they could snatch away a belt or sword tassel from Marquis Guanjun, they could boast about it for a lifetime.

There was a new top scholar every three years, but in all the realm, there was only one Marquis Guanjun.

If they missed this village, there wouldn’t be another shop! Brothers, charge!

Shao Mingyuan: “…” Had he done something wrong?

He couldn’t bring himself to be harsh with ordinary people, but when someone tore off Shao Mingyuan’s money pouch, the general finally became truly angry and kicked that person hard, sending him flying.

Under everyone’s gaze, that person flew through the air like a kite with its string cut, finally sliding down against the wall base, crying out in pain: “Marquis Guanjun kicked me—”

Before he could finish his aggrieved complaint, the man rolled his eyes back and fainted.

The crowd turned their necks stiffly like marionettes to look at Shao Mingyuan.

Their heroic and extraordinary Marquis Guanjun, who protected them like a god, had kicked someone!

What happened to loving the country and the people?

Loving the country and the people? Shao Mingyuan’s handsome face was taut.

They dared to steal the money pouch Zhaozhao had made for him—to hell with loving the country and the people! He wasn’t the one sitting on the dragon throne. Protecting the homeland was his duty as a military officer, but loving the country and the people wasn’t his role to perform.

Shao Mingyuan strode toward the unfortunate soul lying by the wall. The surrounding crowd immediately made way, not making even the slightest sound.

These people all had the same thought: Marquis Guanjun looked terrifying when angry, but they were so curious about what he would do next.

As Shao Mingyuan walked toward that person, everyone’s hearts rose to their throats.

Wasn’t kicking him unconscious enough? Was there still military punishment to come?

Thinking this, everyone took a step back in unison, making the cleared path even wider.

Shao Mingyuan walked to the man’s side, bent down to pick up the money pouch, carefully brushed off the dust, and retied it properly, placed a silver ingot beside the man, then turned and left.

This time, no one dared to crowd around. Only after Shao Mingyuan had gone far away did everyone look at that piece of silver in unison.

That piece of silver was quite substantial!

With perfect understanding, everyone took a step forward together.

The man who had been unconscious suddenly leaped up, clutching the silver tightly to his chest: “What are you trying to do? This is the medical expense Marquis Guanjun gave me!”

After saying this, fearing someone would steal his silver, the man took off running.

Everyone touched their noses and dispersed helplessly.

They hadn’t caught sight of the top scholar, Marquis Guanjun was too frightening—they’d better go find those powerless, poor scholars instead.

“Shixi, it’s not good of you to set up Tingquan like that, is it?”

Chi Can glanced sideways at Zhu Yàn: “What’s there to worry about? Could those people hurt even a hair on his head? Even if he’s too upright to attack ordinary people, if things got out of hand, there are still his guards hidden in the shadows.”

Zhu Yàn smiled: “I’m worried about you.”

He couldn’t forget the scene from before when Yang Houcheng got drunk and hugged Shao Mingyuan while talking nonsense, then got beaten black and blue by Shao Mingyuan.

Chi Can raised his eyebrows: “If he dares hit me, I’ll go tell Third Miss Li that he got his pants torn off in the street and his long legs and perky butt were seen by all the young ladies on the street.”

The air around them suddenly turned cold as Shao Mingyuan silently appeared, looking at Chi Can with a half-smile: “Long legs and perky butt seen by the young ladies on the street?”

Chi Can’s smile disappeared.

Damn, how did this guy happen to overhear that?

“Shixi, I didn’t expect you to have such interests.” Shao Mingyuan cracked his knuckles.

Chi Can instinctively stepped back, forcing himself to say: “Shao Mingyuan, don’t you dare act rashly—Third Miss Li and I are very close.”

This young master even gave up the cabbage he had his eye on to you—what more do you want?

Just thinking about this made Chi Can’s heart turn sour.

He would never marry a wife in the future—he’d stay a bachelor for life and let that bastard Shao Mingyuan feel guilty about it.

“Tingquan, my sworn sister, is still waiting at home for news.” Seeing the two about to start fighting, Qiao Mo quickly smoothed things over.

Although he knew this was just their way of showing brotherly affection, Qiao Mo still hoped to let Qiao Zhao know the results quickly and share the joy with her.

“Personal guards have already gone to report to her.”

Qiao Zhao, who remained at the residence, wasn’t as anxious as several people had imagined. She had even calmly finished the half-completed painting of rain on banana leaves from two days ago.

She had confidence in her elder brother.

When grandfather was still alive, he had said that the elder brother could take the examination. Unfortunately, not long after, grandfather fell ill and died, followed by a mourning period.

“Miss, your sworn brother Young Master Qiao achieved first place in the metropolitan examination!” Binglu ran in, her face full of excitement.

“First place?” Joy appeared in Qiao Zhao’s eyes.

Although she was certain her brother would rank high, achieving first place was still a delightful surprise.

Examination papers were graded by people, so they inevitably carried personal preferences. Who came first and who came second often depended on luck by thirty percent.

The Li residence was still in mourning, and with Third Miss’s sworn brother achieving first place as top scholar, it wasn’t appropriate to invite Qiao Mo over for celebrations. Old Madam Deng ordered the steward to take the congratulatory gifts and presents that Qiao Zhao had prepared separately.

Qiao Mo immediately became a new noble whom all parties in the capital looked upon with favor.

Ten years of hard study with no one caring, achieving fame in one stroke, known throughout the realm.

As the grandson of the great scholar Qiao Zhuo, Qiao Mo wasn’t exactly unknown, but the fire at the Qiao family had almost destroyed everything. Especially Qiao Mo’s disfigurement had made countless people sigh with regret, convinced that the Qiao family was completely finished.

The Qiao family’s young master had recovered his appearance and achieved first place in the metropolitan examination in one stroke—this immediately became a hot topic of discussion throughout the capital.

In the Lan residence, Lan Songquan was losing his temper at his old father Lan Shan: “Father, I said we couldn’t let that Qiao family boy make a comeback. It was just a matter of having a word with the chief examiner, but you insisted on not listening. Now look what’s happened—wildfire cannot burn it all, spring wind blows, and it grows again. In the future, this boy will be big trouble!”

Lan Shan’s face darkened: “Songquan, you’re too hot-headed. Haven’t you noticed that His Majesty’s dissatisfaction with us, father and son, has been gradually increasing lately? First, there was the Xing Wuyang case, then the old case of Marquis Zhenyuan from twenty years ago. Although His Majesty didn’t severely punish us, father and son, this isn’t a good sign. At times like this, it’s better to remain still than to act.”

“But—”

“But what? Whether it’s the top scholar of the metropolitan examination or the top scholar of the palace examination, the glory that comes every three years passes quickly. After that, he’s just a junior starting in officialdom. When the time comes, won’t we be able to find fault with him?”

As a chief minister, manipulating the imperial examinations was far less convenient than dealing with people in officialdom. His son was still too impatient.

Only then did Lan Songquan stop talking.

In Assistant Minister Xu’s residence, Xu Mingda was asking his wife about their granddaughters.

“Among the unmarried granddaughters, who still doesn’t have a betrothal?”

“Fourth Girl, Fifth Girl, and Sixth Girl—none of them are settled yet. What, does the master have a suitable candidate in mind?”